Just saw a late breaking story on the evening news on BBC1 that there are reports of an earthquake in the San Diego area that was about 5 on the Richter scale.

It's such a new story I can't find a link anywhere.

So my question for debate is prefectly simple:

Is everyone okay?
How bad (or not) was it?

I hadn't heard about that one but I imagine (hope) everyone is ok. A 5 isn't really that big of a deal, you might feel it but nothing to get excited about.

This link gives a description of what the various magintudes do and feel like.

Is everyone okay?
How bad (or not) was it?

I felt it here at work in Redondo Beach, but the people in the office next to me didn't. My office is against an outside wall, maybe that's why. It wasn't too bad here, kind of a rolling one, but I would imagine it startled a few people out in Yucaipa (way east of here in San Bernardino county), where it was centered. So far, they're saying it was a 5.3. Pretty decent-sized.

What makes me nervous (and all quakes make me nervous after Northridge) is that this is the 3rd quake in a week in CA. Ew, I hate quake trends!

So, I'm OK, my dad out in Adelanto is OK, too.

Thanks for being concerned!

CJ-thanks for that link. Interesting. Notice that it equates a 5.0 with the same amount of energy as the Nagasaki atomic bomb? Kind of contradicts the "at most slight damage to well-constructed buildings" dealie, hm?

This is the second one in Southern California in the past couple of days that was large enough to even be talking much about. We felt both here in Glendale, pretty much a rocking or rolling motion but no damage. I lived in an area that was hammered by the Northridge quake in 1994 and these are nothing like that one was. It was a thrust fault quake that was like a bomb going off in the house and the house looked like it afterwards. These quakes on the other hand just kind of shake the place a little bit. No damage that I'm aware of anywhere.

I think we are probably gearing up for a major quake somewhere in CA in the near future unfortunately. It has been 16 years since the last big one in the San Francisco area, I can't remember when it was for Southern California, but I think it was more recent than that.

There was a pretty large (7.0) quake 90 miles off the coast of Crescent City, near the border of Oregon and California. Now that is pretty serious, but lessened by the fact that it wasn't in a populated area.

I wouldn't live in California if somebody paid me (a lot)!

Why do people live there, anyway? Is there that much money to be made, is the ocean view that fantastic that they're willing to risk landslides for which homeowner's insurance will not cover them? Is it Hollywood?

I am afraid for the people who continue to live there. There have been so many warnings, especially recently, of the fragility of the fault-ridden land. What are they going to do when it happens--claim that they had "no idea" how dangerous it was to continue to live and work there?

Your post makes me sad. Have you ever lived here? Visited? Back in the 70's, someone predicted California would fall off into the ocean. Guess what? We're still here.

I was born here and have lived here all my life. I love it -it's my home. Not all California houses are on hillsides or on the beach. Damaging earthquakes do not strike with as much freqency as other types of natural disasters do on other parts of the country. And we are far better prepared than many when it comes to natural disasters. What we could not predict was a 100-year old record-breaking rainy season, which exacerbated the conditions for landslides.

People in other areas of the country seem to think California is the only state that has disasters like this. That is soooo not the case. What about the areas that get hit year after year with floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc? Those people rebuild every year too. Floridians live on reclaimed swamp land that has a nasty habit of sinking. What about those people who live in mobile homes in tornado-prone areas? How freakin' stupid is that?!

Why do people live in Michigan? How many people die from the extreme cold there? Is Michigan completely natural-disaster-free?

The Earth is a dangerous place to live. We humans just have to make the best of it.

And yeah, the ocean view IS fantastic, even if only an infintismal percentage of Californians live where they can enjoy it. And jobs are good here. And the weather ain't too shabby either.

Is everyone okay? How bad (or not) was it?

I live in San Francisco; I didn't feel a thing. The Crescent City quake (with associated tsunami warning) was just too far away. The So Cal quake(s) are also far away and too small to be of any consequence anyway; plus, it's So Cal . It is something of a concern though since quakes always seem to cluster. Of course, we're coming up on the centennial of the big '06 earthquake here in SF so a-shakin' is probably on everyone's mind here. Anywho, as I understand it, we should be happy for lots of smallish quakes since they release the stored energy in a manageable (read: relatively non-destructive) manner.

You're still there, but for how much longer? I hope you live there as long as you choose to, not have to be forced to move after you have lost everything you own. That is my concern.

No, I have never visited or lived in California. But I have seen a lot of landslides, mudslides, and earthquakes on the television that take place in California.

California is the state that receives the most publicity, with Florida as a close second, unless it is an election year!

A lot of people move to Florida because they feel it will be less expensive living there, and more often than not they have financial issues. It is a gamble. It is one thing to be in circumstances due to economic necessity; it is another thing altogether to choose to live in risky conditions when it is not necessary and one is aware of those risky conditions.

We live in Michigan because many of us were born here, or because there were jobs to be had in this state (at least that used to be the case). Michigan does not have disasters anywhere near the magnitude of California's disasters. As far as people freezing to death, that is usually due to not being able to pay the heating bill or, even less frequently, because one's vehicle breaks down on a seldom-traveled road during a cold spell.

Lake Michigan does not have tsunamis. And it is beautiful. Besides, it makes sense to me to live in a place that has access to the world's largest supply of fresh water. Our climate is temperate; many people like to see the seasons change. They like snow at Christmas time, crocuses and tulips in the spring, heat and roses in the summer, and beautiful, changing leaf colors in the crisp fall.

In any case, I do not blame anyone whose circumstances are so dire that they find themselves in dangerous conditions. But for the well-heeled, well-informed members of our society who choose geologically and meteorologically unstable areas to live and work, I feel less sympathy.

But if we make the best of it, oblivious to the problems of living on a major fault line or on a flood plane, we will inevitably suffer the consequences of our choices. Only the person involved can truly judge whether the joy balances the misery of living in a certain place.


Well, it's all about living with our choices, provided we can afford to actually make the choices we desire.

And, I hasten to add, it is a relief that no one got hurt this time.

Glad everyone is OK.


An outsider’s perspective.

I had been in and out of California on business trips several times, never enough time to “wonder”. Then about five years ago I spent eleven weeks in Orange county, working in Irvine and staying in corporate housing in Newport beach. I absolutely fell in love with the place.

If you have an active lifestyle there may not be a better place to live than CA. I remember the first weekend I was out there and my staff asked me what my plans were, I told them I was going up to LA to visit a friend. But I was invited to go white water rafting, snow skiing (fresh powder at Big Bear), sailing, surfing, biking, and to a party on Catalina. WOW!!! (I still can’t get over how cold the ocean was, even when I visited in June).

I borrowed a bike from one of the staff and would ride down to Laguna Beach almost daily (I REALLY fell in love with Laguna). They’ve done an outstanding job of creating dedicated biking/blading lanes.

There may not be a place on earth where there’s such diversity in everything: activities, people, food, and fauna. I found the “natives” to be very friendly and always willing to make the stay more enjoyable. Sure I ran into member of the “materialistic” set, but I run into them at home as well.

I had several offers to work there but when I started to look at housing and the salary offers the math just didn’t work. But I’d move there in a second if I could get the equation just right.

I agree that California is an amazing place. It's so huge. It's so diverse. Do you want to live by the ocean? You can. Want hot weather? You got it. Cool weather? No problem. Want to live in the mountains? The desert? On the side of a hill? You can.

I travel to CA at last once per year and used to work for a company based in the western end of the San Fernando valley. I know people who had their houses destroyed during the Northridge quake. I was there for a 5.2 and also for a few "tremblers". When the earth (and everything on it) moves..... it's a scary thing. Nothing we have in Michigan comes close to that.

Michigan's pretty mild on the natural disaster front. We don't get winters as bad as places like Minnesota or Buffalo, NY. We don't get much flooding and tornados are far less frequent than states in the heartland or even Indiana and Ohio.

The biggest downside for California is the absolute crowding in the larger cities and the resulting skyrocketed real estate prices.

All in all, I think it's a pretty amazing state. No wonder so many people have moved there to live in spite of the earthquakes, mudslides, brushfires, and over-crowding.

Hopefully until I depart this mortal coil. If the Northridge earthquake (which took my home and nearly took my sanity) didn't make me leave, nothing else will.


Well, shoot, I was born right smack in downtown Los Angeles, so I feel entitled to live in my home state, too. And jobs are good here. I'm curious about something; those who feel that Californians are crazy for living here, what do you suggest? Do we evacuate California? You do realize it has the 5th* largest economy in the world - not the country, but the world? The incidents shown on TV are only a small part of a large, diverse state. Most people who have never been here think California consists of LA and San Francisco. But there is so much more.

P.S. I found a site that shows Michigan has earthquakes, too.

*It may be 6th now, I'm not sure.

I felt the quake as well. I work in a basement, it was like a gentle rumbling, none of the normal frightnening spontaneous oncoming train sound you usually get.

I spent the first 21 years of my life living in misery if I stepped outdoors 3 months out of the year in New England. I just got sick of it.

Santa Monica & San Francisco are the two most beautiful places for one to live in an urban environment(and maybe Seattle, haven't been there enough, though). In Santa Monica, we're right next to beautiful mountains, a beautiful ocean view, Venice Beach - renowned for it's culture, some of the best dining in the state are within out borders, decent public transportation, beautiful people, and absolutely beautiful houses/apartments are available to live in(not cheap, of course ) For lefties you get the added benefit of living among people who overwhelmingly are on your side of the poltiical compass, where Democrats are the conservative party.

Not only that, but, I'm not sure where I could live and still work in the entertainment industry outside of LA. While I may not be here the rest of my life (I'm a wandering spirit at heart), I will most likely be here as long as I work in the entertainment industry. What choice do I have really?

I live about 30 mins from the epicenter. It was a shaker, but it wasn't bad enough to make me stop playing rummy with my grandmother. The one on monday barely woke me up out of bed.

Didn't feel a thing at my house in Sherman Oaks, but thats earthquakes for you, its all about the geology where you are, whats between you and the epicenter and distance. I lived in West L.A. during the Northridge quake, and mostly there was little damage but here and there were little pockets of devastation.

Personally, I'll take the daily glory that is California living and a major earthquake every 30 - 50 years over guaranteed yearly deep freezes, tornadoes, Hurricanes, floods or whatever.

Michigan has had earth tremors, but nowhere near what California experiences every year. I am sure there are also maps on the Internet that show the relative geological stability of the two states.
You asked why people lived in Michigan, so I told you. I am certain that Julian did not mean for this to be a contest between states, however.
I'm sure they had similar things to be proud of in ancient Pompeii until Mt. Vesuvius changed their economic (and any other) outlook forever.